admisionquestion wrote:Here is some data mined from LSN. I pulled all the applicants from last year and then pulled all the data from those who went complete by the end of october.

This picture is all the data. It is a small sample size:

Of the 35 total applicants who went complete last year before the end of october 8 were accepted.

Of those who received decisions after January 16th 1 or 2 were accepted (one did not report decision date).

SOMEONE please tell me why i should not be freaking out about this!?!

because we didn't go back in time and aren't reliving last year, so things might be a little different?

Because Stanford accepts something to the order of 9% of applicants anyway, and I would be willing to bet very many of the other 91% had numbers that would generate at least a consider on LSP.

If you really feel helpless and need to take some kind of action, time and again on this website and elsewhere you will read how Stanford wants applicants to keep in touch. Probably (definitely) something more substantial than just an e-mail saying you still really want to go there. Write an LOCI and send it to them in the name of keeping in touch. If you didn't already send in a Stanford specific LOR, get one and send it to them. If you know a SLS alum, even if its a weak connection, ask them for a LOR alongside an interview which would give them something material to write about.

SLS has a much lower yield than H and Y, so while they really don't need to yield protect, if your numbers really are that astronomical that it makes you feel like you need to freak out because SLS hasn't accepted you yet, the options I mentioned above shouldn't hurt your cause.

admisionquestion wrote:Thanks, thats good advice. Two follow ups. Should LOCI's be emailed or mailed to Stanford? What should I include in a LOCI?

Your LOCI should serve the purpose of, obviously, expressing continued interest as well as continuing to sell yourself as an applicant worthy of admission. Do a search on LOCI on this site, there are a number of examples as well as a hallmark thread giving advice on the topic. Most of the time people say to do it once wait listed, but like I said, Stanford is known for encouraging applicants to keep in touch.

The basic paragraph shell of an LOCI is-

I'm writing to express my continued interest in SLSI hope to be a part of this (program/field of study/journal) because XI will be able to benefit this (program/field of study/ journal) because XI also wanted to update SLS on my (updated transcript/promotion/award)

The LOCI is less formal than a personal statement, and takes the form of correspondence rather than a personal statement. What you don't want to do is sound insincere or like you are writing it to check the block.

Some schools require it snail mail, but those are the rare exception (Harvard). If it were me, I would send it via e-mail or just call them and ask first. They may tell you they want it hard copy, but there is probably someone on this site who has done it before and can tell you their experience.

Any thoughts on whether spek's CRS fee waiver indicates a dip in applications this year? People have been mentioning a decrease in applicants in other threads but I'm not clear how significant or widespread this is.

LOCIsDean Deal speaks briefly about LOCIs here. She said their function is most useful during the summer if you are waitlisted. Again, if you have nothing new to say, it might be better not to say anything at all. There isn't the need to send an LOCI before you get a decision (acceptance or wait list)-they have your file, and are waiting to make a decision on it. Of course, if there is something substantial that has changed in your life (you were awarded a Marshall Scholarship), that might be a reason to send an LOCI.

Why Stanford Essays

This essay is only relevant for a tiny portion of applicants. If you have to ask yourself if you are among them, then you probably aren't. If you have to research the SLS website and look at the course listings, you probably shouldn't be writing one. Perhaps one situation would be that you are already a PhD candidate at Stanford, and for that reason Stanford Law is your first choice. Another may be that your significant other goes to school at SLS. Dean Deal does read these essays with an extra-skeptical eye, and they are counted amongst all your materials. Thus if this piece of your application is weak, it is weakens your entire application. As you can imagine, she is pretty good at seeing through BS about why SLS is your top choice.

LOCIsDean Deal speaks briefly about LOCIs here. She said their function is most useful during the summer if you are waitlisted. Again, if you have nothing new to say, it might be better not to say anything at all. There isn't the need to send an LOCI before you get a decision (acceptance or wait list)-they have your file, and are waiting to make a decision on it. Of course, if there is something substantial that has changed in your life (you were awarded a Marshall Scholarship), that might be a reason to send an LOCI.

Why Stanford Essays

This essay is only relevant for a tiny portion of applicants. If you have to ask yourself if you are among them, then you probably aren't. If you have to research the SLS website and look at the course listings, you probably shouldn't be writing one. Perhaps one situation would be that you are already a PhD candidate at Stanford, and for that reason Stanford Law is your first choice. Another may be that your significant other goes to school at SLS. Dean Deal does read these essays with an extra-skeptical eye, and they are counted amongst all your materials. Thus if this piece of your application is weak, it is weakens your entire application. As you can imagine, she is pretty good at seeing through BS about why SLS is your top choice.

LOCIsDean Deal speaks briefly about LOCIs here. She said their function is most useful during the summer if you are waitlisted. Again, if you have nothing new to say, it might be better not to say anything at all. There isn't the need to send an LOCI before you get a decision (acceptance or wait list)-they have your file, and are waiting to make a decision on it. Of course, if there is something substantial that has changed in your life (you were awarded a Marshall Scholarship), that might be a reason to send an LOCI.

Why Stanford Essays

This essay is only relevant for a tiny portion of applicants. If you have to ask yourself if you are among them, then you probably aren't. If you have to research the SLS website and look at the course listings, you probably shouldn't be writing one. Perhaps one situation would be that you are already a PhD candidate at Stanford, and for that reason Stanford Law is your first choice. Another may be that your significant other goes to school at SLS. Dean Deal does read these essays with an extra-skeptical eye, and they are counted amongst all your materials. Thus if this piece of your application is weak, it is weakens your entire application. As you can imagine, she is pretty good at seeing through BS about why SLS is your top choice.

spek wrote:Are you guys receiving fee waivers or applications to apply for fee waivers? Either way it's encouraging but I'm fairly certain they only give need based waivers.

Mine is a fee waiver. I'm about to submit my app and LSAC says "app fee waived due to CRS fee waiver" like other schools have.

I didn't apply for a need based waiver and wouldn't have qualified anyway.

Hey! The same thing happened to me. I just assumed that it was a merit-based fee waiver (because I hadn't apply for a need-based) but I remember thinking it was weird because I hadn't received an email from Stanford telling me they would waive the application fee.

Then a few days ago I received an email from the office of admissions telling me the waiver was a technical mistake and that I did had to pay the 100$. I do not mind paying and I understand that mistakes happened, but what pissed me off is that now they're telling me there's no way I can pay online with a credit card (as we do through LSAC) and that I really need to send them by mail either a money order or a check in US dollars. This is kind of complicated from me because my bank account is Canadian so I can only write canadian checks and moreover I am currently travelling in Australia am I am in an area where there are not much banks or post offices... anyways. did they wrote to you about that too?

spek wrote:Are you guys receiving fee waivers or applications to apply for fee waivers? Either way it's encouraging but I'm fairly certain they only give need based waivers.

Mine is a fee waiver. I'm about to submit my app and LSAC says "app fee waived due to CRS fee waiver" like other schools have.

I didn't apply for a need based waiver and wouldn't have qualified anyway.

Hey! The same thing happened to me. I just assumed that it was a merit-based fee waiver (because I hadn't apply for a need-based) but I remember thinking it was weird because I hadn't received an email from Stanford telling me they would waive the application fee.

Then a few days ago I received an email from the office of admissions telling me the waiver was a technical mistake and that I did had to pay the 100$. I do not mind paying and I understand that mistakes happened, but what pissed me off is that now they're telling me there's no way I can pay online with a credit card (as we do through LSAC) and that I really need to send them by mail either a money order or a check in US dollars. This is kind of complicated from me because my bank account is Canadian so I can only write canadian checks and moreover I am currently travelling in Australia am I am in an area where there are not much banks or post offices... anyways. did they wrote to you about that too?

that is really frustrating. You would think they would just let the $100 go since they were the ones who made a mistake.

LOCIsDean Deal speaks briefly about LOCIs here. She said their function is most useful during the summer if you are waitlisted. Again, if you have nothing new to say, it might be better not to say anything at all. There isn't the need to send an LOCI before you get a decision (acceptance or wait list)-they have your file, and are waiting to make a decision on it. Of course, if there is something substantial that has changed in your life (you were awarded a Marshall Scholarship), that might be a reason to send an LOCI.

Why Stanford Essays

This essay is only relevant for a tiny portion of applicants. If you have to ask yourself if you are among them, then you probably aren't. If you have to research the SLS website and look at the course listings, you probably shouldn't be writing one. Perhaps one situation would be that you are already a PhD candidate at Stanford, and for that reason Stanford Law is your first choice. Another may be that your significant other goes to school at SLS. Dean Deal does read these essays with an extra-skeptical eye, and they are counted amongst all your materials. Thus if this piece of your application is weak, it is weakens your entire application. As you can imagine, she is pretty good at seeing through BS about why SLS is your top choice.

Well, damn. I guess I shouldn't have written one. I know writing one for a top 3 school might seem unnecessary, but I figured since Stanford seems to like applications being targeted towards them, it might be a good thing to do. Oops.

Anyway, I submitted my app on 1/8. I got the e-mail from Stanford acknowledging receipt of my application, but I still haven't gotten the e-mail with the status checker info that says my app is complete. Should I be worried at all? I figure they're probably just really busy right now, but I want to be sure.

spek wrote:Are you guys receiving fee waivers or applications to apply for fee waivers? Either way it's encouraging but I'm fairly certain they only give need based waivers.

Mine is a fee waiver. I'm about to submit my app and LSAC says "app fee waived due to CRS fee waiver" like other schools have.

I didn't apply for a need based waiver and wouldn't have qualified anyway.

Hey! The same thing happened to me. I just assumed that it was a merit-based fee waiver (because I hadn't apply for a need-based) but I remember thinking it was weird because I hadn't received an email from Stanford telling me they would waive the application fee.

Then a few days ago I received an email from the office of admissions telling me the waiver was a technical mistake and that I did had to pay the 100$. I do not mind paying and I understand that mistakes happened, but what pissed me off is that now they're telling me there's no way I can pay online with a credit card (as we do through LSAC) and that I really need to send them by mail either a money order or a check in US dollars. This is kind of complicated from me because my bank account is Canadian so I can only write canadian checks and moreover I am currently travelling in Australia am I am in an area where there are not much banks or post offices... anyways. did they wrote to you about that too?

that is really frustrating. You would think they would just let the $100 go since they were the ones who made a mistake.

Yeah I know! It's just as if the cashier at the grocery store had forgotten to scan a couple of items off your purchases and then started calling you a few days after urging you to come back at the store and pay!